² Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry ^(A)the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.

⁸ At that time ^(A)the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi ^(B)to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord ^(C)to stand before the Lord to minister to him and ^(D)to bless in his name, to this day.

The Reading of the Law

⁹ Then Moses ^(A)wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, ^(B)who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.

¹⁷ “For thus says the Lord: ^(A)David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, ^18 (B)and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.”

¹⁹ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ^20 (C)“Thus says the Lord: ^(D)If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, ^(E)so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, ^21 (F)then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. ²² As ^(G)the host of heaven cannot be numbered and ^(H)the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

³ and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by ^(A)the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it.

Duties of Priests and Levites

18 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall ^(A)bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, ^(B)and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood. ² And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may ^(C)join you and ^(D)minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony. ³ They shall keep guard over you and ^(E)over the whole tent, ^(F)but shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary or to the altar ^(G)lest they, and you, die. ⁴ They shall join you and keep guard over the tent of meeting for all the service of the tent, ^(H)and no outsider shall come near you. ⁵ And you shall ^(I)keep guard over the sanctuary and over the altar, ^(J)that there may never again be wrath on the people of Israel. ^6 (K)And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. ^(L)They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. ⁷ And ^(M)you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and ^(N)that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift,^[a] and ^(O)any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

⁸ Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, “Behold, ^(P)I have given you charge of the contributions made to me, all the consecrated things of the people of Israel. I have given them to you ^(Q)as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual due.

⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord.”

²⁴ “This applies to the Levites: ^(A)from twenty-five years old and upward they^[a] shall come to do duty in the service of the tent of meeting. ²⁵ And from the age of fifty years they shall withdraw from the duty of the service and serve no more. ²⁶ They minister^[b] to their brothers in the tent of meeting ^(B)by keeping guard, but they shall do no service. Thus shall you do to the Levites in assigning their duties.”

¹³ And you shall set the Levites before Aaron and his sons, and shall offer them as ^(A)a wave offering to the Lord.

¹⁴ “Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and ^(B)the Levites shall be mine.